It is known to provide computer shopping terminals in stores and shopping malls, for example, wherein a customer can browse through a computerized catalog and order items therefrom via computer. Some such systems even allow the customer to modify the catalog items by selecting one of a number of preset options. Such a system is taught by U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,246 to Goldman which discloses a system for specifying custom garments.
In the system disclosed by Goldman, the customer inputs certain personal data, and then selects a particular style of suit from a computerized catalog. The customer may also choose from a variety of options, such as patch pockets. The computer then informs the customer if any of the selected options are considered to be unsuitable for a person of the customer's particular size and/or build. Once the particular suit is determined and the in-store financial transaction is completed, the computer sends the selected catalog information to a manufacturing computer.
Such systems are disadvantageous, however, in that the customer is limited to a certain number of predetermined options stored in the computer memory. In the system of Goldman, for example, a customer cannot select a style of garment unless the manufacturing computer already has the pattern for the style stored in memory as one of a finite number of predefined options. In this way, the article cannot be considered to be truly "customized".
This disadvantage is overcome by the invention disclosed in U.S. Ser. No. 07/598,763, abandoned, which teaches a flexible computer-controlled manufacturing system for producing customized articles. According to this disclosure, a customer-generated computerized specification is sent from the customer's premises to a computer in the manufacturing plant. The specification can include the customer identification, request for price, request for delivery date, graphic details of the article, and confirmation of the order. Upon receipt of such a specification, the computer in the manufacturing plant controls the manufacturing of the article. In this way, highly customized articles can be created without the need for a predefined pattern. This system can be used for producing a wide variety of customized articles, such as printed signs.
The automobile manufacturing industry has long sought the ability to paint automobile bodies on an automated assembly line. The difficulty has been that each successive automobile on the assembly line may be a different model which is to be painted a different color than the one before it. Accordingly, paint sprayers disposed at the same location may not adequately cover each successive automobile, unless the shape and size of the automobile can be taken into account.
To this end, various systems have been developed for identifying the particular model and color of automobile to be painted on the assembly line. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,255,037 discloses a system wherein photodetectors are used to detect the shape and size of each successive vehicle on the assembly line. The paint sprayers are then positioned according to the shape and size of the vehicle. Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 4,419,384 discloses photosensors for detecting the size and shape of the automobile, and then the painting of the vehicle is computer controlled based on the detected information. U.S. Pat. No. 3,739,742 discloses a spray assembly memory which detects the type of article to be painted through the use of mechanical pins activated only by a certain type of article. U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,003 discloses a paint spray control system wherein an operator manually enters information regarding the type of automobile and the color to be painted, and the computer checks the inputted data with pre-programmed style and color data. U.S. Pat. No. 4,362,124 discloses that a preloaded program which allows for contour and/or shape data of the automobile to be entered.
These known systems are necessarily limited to the predefined styles and colors stored in the memory of the computer. Accordingly, these systems do not provide sufficient flexibility in manufacturing.